Sahara Dance’s 2025 Year in Review

Dear Sahara Dance Community,

As another year comes to a close, we find ourselves reflecting with deep gratitude on all that we’ve created together. This year was filled with meaningful milestones, beautiful performances, shared growth, and moments of connection that remind us why Sahara Dance continues to be such a special home for dancers.

Thank you for being part of this vibrant, creative, and supportive community. Let’s enjoy a little time to relive the highlights of the year, basking in all the beauty and good times we made together.

With love and appreciation,
Rachel

Performances: Celebrating Artistry & Milestones

Under a Desert Moon – 20th Anniversary

This year, Under a Desert Moon marked a profound milestone for Sahara Dance as we celebrated the 20th anniversary of this beloved production. The evening offered a meaningful opportunity to reflect on two decades of artistry, dedication, and community, honoring some of the inspirations who have shaped Sahara Dance’s journey over the years.

The commemorative performance was rich with intention and warmth, featuring live music by the Saltanah Ensemble, teacher solos, and special appearances from longtime Sahara Dance faculty. Moments onstage felt like a living tribute – celebrating not only the beauty of the dance itself, but the relationships, mentorship, and shared history that continue to sustain the studio.

Rachel shared a deeply personal reflection on this milestone evening, capturing the gratitude, resilience, and creative roots that have carried Sahara Dance forward through seasons of growth and change. We invite you to read her full reflection and revisit the magic of this unforgettable celebration. View highlights from our 20th Annual Under a Desert Moon celebration, including behind-the-scenes moments and performance clips.

Summer Caravan

Our Summer Caravan brought warmth, joy, and bold artistry to the stage, highlighted by a special appearance from world-renowned guest artist Esmeralda Colabone. Audiences were captivated by her performance, alongside powerful contributions from Sahara Dance teachers and students who brought a wide range of styles and voices to the stage.

A particularly memorable moment was seeing dancers come together to perform a Lebanese pop piece developed through workshops, celebrating collaboration, musicality, and shared exploration. Performances from the Al Fanaanat Project further showcased dancers’ growth and courage, highlighting the dedication required to step into deeper artistic expression. Explore highlights from the Summer Caravan and Esmeralda’s intensive workshops.

Fall Caravan

We closed out the performance season with a Fall Caravan that felt intimate, cozy, and deeply connected. This show offered a space to witness dancers’ continued evolution and artistry in a warm, supportive setting. Check out our highlight photos from our most recent and last show of the year.

The Fall Caravan also marked the debut of Raqqesat Soheir, directed by beloved founding teacher, Ziyaki. Raqqesat Soheir welcomes a new vision and energy into our performance family, offering advanced students additional opportunity for development and expression. The evening served as a beautiful reminder of how Sahara Dance continues to grow – honoring tradition while making space for new creative beginnings.

Retreats: Connection Beyond the Studio

19th Annual Heart of Belly Dance Retreat 

In May, we traveled to Blue Spirit in Costa Rica for our 19th Annual Heart of Belly Dance Retreat, led by Esmeralda Colabone as part of her Silver Tour. This year’s retreat centered on themes of artistry, aging, and longevity, inviting dancers to reflect on how their relationship to dance evolves over time.

Through daily classes, discussion, and shared experiences, dancers explored not only technique and expression, but also the wisdom, depth, and self-knowledge that comes from sustained artistic practice. Set within a lush natural environment, the retreat offered space to step away from daily routines and reconnect – with dance, with nature, and with one another.

The Heart of Belly Dance Retreat continues to be a meaningful space for reflection, renewal, and community, honoring the many ways dance supports us across different stages of life. Our next retreat in May will be the special, commemorative 20th anniversary edition with the theme of self-care and rejuvenation, and led by the legendary, Jillina! Register to join us in Costa Rica.

Each year, Sahara Dance retreats offer dancers the chance to step outside the studio and into spaces designed for reflection, renewal, and deeper connection. These gatherings invite participants to slow down, listen inward, and reconnect with the joy and intention behind their dance practice. View moments from the Heart of Belly Dance Retreat in Costa Rica.

In the Spotlight: Podcast and TV Feature

This year also included a special podcast interview featuring Rachel Kay Brookmire in conversation with Iana Komarnytska, offering thoughtful insight into Rachel’s journey, teaching philosophy, and the evolution of Sahara Dance.

The conversation provides a deeper look into the values that guide the studio and the experiences that have shaped its growth. We invite you to listen and learn more through the linked blog post and podcast.

Most recently, Rachel Kay Brookmire, alongside dancers Gretchen, An, and Nailah, had the joy of being invited to WUSA9’s Get Uplifted on December 17, 2025. The segment offered a beautiful opportunity to share the artistry, joy, and cultural richness of belly dance with a wider audience, highlighting movement as a source of connection, expression, and uplift.

We’re grateful for the chance to represent our community on such a vibrant platform and to celebrate dance as a living, joyful art form. Watch the segment here.

Teaching & Faculty Updates

This year brought both new beginnings and heartfelt farewells within our teaching community, reflecting the care, intention, and diversity of approaches that shape the Sahara Dance experience.

We were delighted to welcome Jacinda to the teaching team. Jacinda’s work centers on belly dance as a practice of body acceptance, healing, and self-connection, inviting dancers to move from the inside out. Her classes blend traditional belly dance technique with mindfulness, gentle movement, and reflective practices, creating a supportive space where dancers can explore not only how they move, but how they relate to their bodies. Jacinda’s Belly Dance for Body Acceptance & Healing intensive offered a deeply personal and compassionate approach to dance, and she will be returning to teach again in the spring.

Learn more through Jacinda’s Q&A feature.

We also warmly welcomed back Cynthia, whose teaching brings together the joyful energy of Brazilian samba and the grounded expressiveness of belly dance. Her Samba–Belly Dance Fusion classes emphasize rhythm, musicality, and full-body movement, blending samba footwork and hip accents with belly dance isolations, shimmies, and expressive arm patterns. Cynthia’s classes are energetic, confidence-building, and celebratory – offering dancers a vibrant, movement-forward experience rooted in connection to music and joy.

At the same time, we shared a fond farewell to Julie, honoring the artistry, care, and creativity she has offered so generously over the years. Julie’s presence has shaped many dancers’ journeys, and we invite you to revisit her impact through a farewell post shared on social media. Cynthia will be working with Julie to take over directorship of her long-standing, Raqqesat Latin performance company as it moves to Monday evenings.

We are deeply grateful to all of our teachers for the skill, generosity, and heart they bring to the studio every week.

Growing Opportunities for Students

In 2025, Sahara Dance continued expanding ways for students to engage, grow, and be recognized, offering opportunities that support artistic development, consistency, and connection.

  • New assessment opportunities across levels and choreographies, giving students structured ways to receive feedback, track progress, and celebrate their growth

  • A $50 class credit Perfect Attendance Award recognizing commitment, consistency, and dedication to regular practice

  • Expanded belly dance cardio drop-in options, creating accessible opportunities for joyful movement and community connection

  • Guest passes to encourage sharing dance with friends and loved ones, extending the warmth of the studio beyond its walls

Together, these offerings reflect our commitment to accessible, joyful, and meaningful dance education, supporting dancers at every stage of their journey.

World-Touring Guest Artists

We were honored to host and collaborate with an extraordinary lineup of world-touring guest artists this year, offering dancers meaningful opportunities to study with leaders whose work has shaped contemporary belly dance across the globe.

This year’s guest artists brought a wide range of perspectives, styles, and cultural lineages to the studio. Mohamed Ali led workshops rooted in Egyptian dance traditions, including Modern Shaabi (Mahrajanat) and Saidi folkloric dance. His classes explored musical expression, cultural context, and technique – from modern street-influenced Shaabi choreography to the grounded, energetic cane work of Upper Egypt – offering dancers a deeper understanding of both contemporary and folkloric Egyptian styles.

Florence Leclerc returned for her second visit with Sahara Dance, offering an online exclusive focused on veil work, movement quality, and layered expression. We were thrilled to host Esmeralda Colabone and Rachel Brice for sold-out intensives, reflecting the community’s enthusiasm for immersive learning experiences. Esmeralda’s visit coincided with her Silver Tour, while Rachel – a longtime friend of the studio and one of the original voices of American fusion – shared her deep experience and creative lineage. During her visit, we were also delighted to welcome Esmeralda to Washington, DC, and share a bit of our city with her beyond the studio. Esmeralda and Rachel each led immersive workshops focused on deepening artistic voice, musicality, and embodied expression, offering dancers sustained, in-depth study rather than single-class experiences.

We also welcomed Athena Najat, whose workshops drew from Greek and Romani influences, expanding dancers’ cultural and stylistic awareness. In addition, we collaborated with Shahrzad, whose work in Advanced Modern Shaabi choreography and leadership of the Al Fanaanat Project provided dancers with opportunities for professional-level artistic development and performance experience.

Together, these experiences continue to deepen our collective understanding of movement, culture, and artistic voice, reinforcing Sahara Dance’s commitment to globally informed, thoughtful dance education.

Community Performances

Beyond our mainstage productions, Sahara Dance was proud to share our art with the wider community through performances at a variety of public events throughout the year.

Dancers represented Sahara Dance at the Travel & Adventure Show, Fiesta Asia, Tenleytown Art All Night, and as the opening act for 1001 Nights, featuring choreography by Jennifer, bringing Middle Eastern dance traditions into public spaces and community celebrations across the region.

These performances offer meaningful opportunities to connect with new audiences, foster cultural exchange, and celebrate the richness and diversity of Middle Eastern dance traditions beyond the studio.

Final Thanks

As always, our deepest thanks go to the teachers, studio assistants, students, volunteers, and supporters who make Sahara Dance what it is. Your presence, dedication, and care are the foundation of this community, and the reason the studio continues to feel welcoming, vibrant, and alive.

Sahara Dance is built on relationships – on the trust, creativity, and shared commitment that grows when people come together through movement. We are so grateful to dance alongside you and look forward to continuing this journey together in the year ahead.